Catamenial tampon

ABSTRACT

A highly compressed catamenial tampon, the side surfaces of which comprise loosened fiber ends and the method of producing the same by relative rolling motion of the tampon on a multiplicity of wirelike prongs which penetrate the tampon to a depth of from about one one-hundred twenty-eighth to about onesixteenth inch.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Martin Grad Cincinnati;

Richard C. Miller, North College Hill; Grace L. Smith, Cincinnati, all of Ohio 864,934

Sept. 17, 1969 Nov. 30, 1971 The Procter 8; Gamble Company Cincinnati, Ohio Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 768,425, Oct. 17, 1968, now abandoned. This application Sept. 17, 1969, Ser. No.

App]. No. Filed Patented Assignee CATAMENIAL TAMPON 4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 128/285 A611 13/20 Field of Search 128/285,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,340,311 2/1944 Donovan 128/285 2,386,590 10/1945 Calhoun 128/285 2,499,414 3/1950 Rabell [28/285 2,508,214 5/1950 Biederman 128/285 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,203,684 1/1960 France 128/285 Primary ExaminerCharles F. Rosenbaum Attorney-John V. Gorman ABSTRACT: A highly compressed catamenial tampon, the side surfaces of which comprise loosened fiber ends and the method of producing the same by relative rolling motion of the tampon on a multiplicity of wireiike prongs which penetrate the tampon to a depth of from about one one-hundred twenty-eighth to about one-sixteenth inch.

PATENTEDuuv 30 I971 Fig. 4

l-lrh,Ll/LT1FJ IIIIII|ITTI IIIIII l lllllllllfilllllllllllll u s ZO Tr-r-r-r-rPrrP IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII II IIIIIIIII II INV/iN'lIl/(S Morhn Grod ichord M'i'qer roce ml AT TORNE Y CATAMENIAL TAMPON CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 768,425, filed Oct. I7, 1968 and now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a catamenial tampon and the method of preparation thereof and more particularly to a compressed tampon the sides of which have been modified to enhance its efficacy in use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION One of the principal problems in connection with the use of a compressed tampon as a catamenial device is that ofchanneling," i.e., the unobstructed flow of menses along the wall of the vagina past the tampon. The results of channeling are soiling of the garments of the user and potential embarassment to her. A tampon is most susceptible to failure by channeling immediately after insertion and such susceptibility continues until the tampon absorbs menses and expands to a size which materially reduces the possibility of menses flowing past the device.

It has been found that a tampon which is not highly compressed is not as vulnerable to the channeling problem as that which is highly compressed. On the other hand, a highly compressed tampon is considerably easier and more comfortably inserted than a tampon comprising the same quantity of material and which is not highly compressed. As used herein, a highly compressed tampon. is a tampon which has been compressed to a density of at least about 0.4 grams per cubic centimeter.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to reduce the incidence of failure of highly compressed tampons.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a highly compressed tampon which is no more vulnerable to failure by channeling than a tampon of the same final dimensions made of a substantially smaller quantity of the same material and, hence, not highly compressed.

It is another object of the subject invention to provide a tampon which is improved in protection against failure by channeling and employs absorbent material in greater quantities than most commercially available tampons, therefore providing a greater degree of protection to the user.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method of preparing a highly compressed tampon which is substantially improved in resistance to failure by channeling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a catamenial tampon constructed from an elongated, highly compressed tampon blank of absorbent fibers, the side surfaces of the tampon comprising disturbed fiber ends which are loosened and separated from one another.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided in a method of making a tampon which includes the steps of forming a blank from absorbent fibrous material and compressing the same into an elongated cylindrical form under high pressure, the step of rolling the form about its lengthwise axis relative to a surface provided with outwardly projecting wirelike prongs. The prongs penetrate the form to a depth between about on sixty-fourth to about one sixteenth inch whereby fibers along the side surfaces of the form are loosened and separated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the present invention, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a tampon blank prior to folding and compression of the same into tampon form;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a tampon blank of FIG. 1 following folding and tying of the drawstring;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the tampon following compression of the tampon blank of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a device which is adapted to modify the condition of the side surface of the tampon;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the finished tampon of the present invention with a portion thereof enlarged to illustrate the condition of the outer surface;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a further embodiment of the finished tampon of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in section, showing a device adapted to make annular cuts in the side surface of a tampon of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a catamenial tampon blank 11 which has been cut to size from an absorbent, fibrous batt of substantially uniform thickness. The material from which the blank 11 is made can comprise cotton, rayon or other absorbent fibers of staple length (having a length of from about one-half inch to about 4 inches) and can be carded or garnetted, cross lapped and, preferably, is needle punched. One preferred type of material is a blend of about 15 percent by weight of bibulous fibers with rayon staple fibers, as fully disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 713,143, filed Mar. 14, 1968 by Walter L. Dean and George N. Ferguson, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

Although not critical, the size of the blank 11 can be 6 inches long, 1% inches wide and l inch thick and have a densi ty of between about 0.02 to about 0.03 grams per cubic centimeter for a device of regular size, i.e., one adapted to perform adequately for most women. If a smaller or larger tampon is desired, the size of the blank can be decreased or increased by the required amount, as is well known by those of ordinary skill in the art.

The fibers of blank 11 preferably extend in a direction generally transverse the lengthwise dimension of the blank 11. There are advantages to be derived from such fiber orientation, especially in connection with certain embodiments of the present invention, as will be more clearly understood and fully discussed hereinafter.

The blank 11 is provided with a withdrawal string 12 which extends centrally across the blank 1 l in a transverse direction with the approximate midpoint of the withdrawal string 12 secured to the blank 11 by gluing, looping, sewing or the like. If adhesive attachment is desired, one very satisfactory adhesive is a percent solids hot melt adhesive marketed by Eastman Chemical Products Inc., Chemicals Division, Kings Port, Tennessee, and identified as Eastobond M-3, the application of which can be accomplished manually or by automatic means known in the art, the manner of employment of which is well within the range of competence of those of ordinary skill in the art.

The withdrawal string 12 can be any waterproof, nonwicking, soft, flexible string having sufficient tensile strength to avoid failure when employed to withdraw the used tampon. The withdrawal string 12 can extend to a length of about 5 inches from the end of the tampon following formation, although its specific length is not critical so long as it is sufficient to extend from the body of the user when the tampon is inserted and not so lengthy as to be uncomfortable or unwieldy during use. The type of withdrawal string 12, its application and other details of this particular feature are well known and are not significant aspects of the present invention and therefore are not described in detail herein.

Next, the tampon blank 11 is folded, wallet-fashion, as shown in FIG. 2, wherein the withdrawal string 12 is enclosed between the halves of the blank It at the closed or folded end.

The ends of the withdrawal string 12 can be tied in a knot to keep them together and to insure that the tampon blank 11 is retained within a closed loop even if the means for the midpoint attachment string 12 to the blank 1 1 should fail.

The folded tampon blank 11 is then compressed to usable size by any of the generally known and available machines for perfonning this function, specific descriptions of which are available in the patent literature. Illustrative of such disclosures are Greiner et al., US. Pat. No. 2,690,597, the compression method and apparatus portion of the description of which are hereby incorporated by reference. By increasing the density of the fibrous mass to the range of from about 0.4 g./cm. to about 0.8 g./cm., the tampon blank 11 is reduced in size to a tampon 14 which can be bulletlike in shape, if desired, having a length of from about 1% inches to about 2 inches and an average diameter of slightly greater than about one-half inch although the specific dimensions thereof can be varied within the range of comfort standards adapted by the manufacturer. In any event, the high pressures used make the size of the resulting tampon l4 sufficiently small for comfortable insertion even when a substantial quantity of absorbent material is used. if densities substantially in excess of about 0.8 grams per cubic centimeter are employed, then problems can be experienced in that the per unit absorptive capacity of the material can be reduced.

Highly compressed tampons of this type, i.e., tampons formed to densities of at least about 0.4 grams per cubic centimeter have side surfaces 16 which are very smooth, hard and therefore lacking in readily accessible capillaries in the surface area whereby the surface is resistant to penetration of fluids. When such a highly compressed tampon 14 is inserted and used, it is found that channeling is a common problem because of the aforesaid fluid penetration resistance. In order to eliminate the problem so that a highly compressed tampon 14 can be used without a high incidence of channeling, fibers along the side surfaces 16 of tampon 14 are distributed, i.e., loosened and separated from one another.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a schematic elevational view of an apparatus 18 adapted to disturb the fibers of the side surface 16 of tampon 14. Apparatus 18 comprises a pair of spaced runs 20, 22 of card clothing. Card clothing has a tough, flexible, cloth backing material which on one surface is provided with a multiplicity of projecting wirelike prongs of substantially uniform length. Such prongs can, for example, be constructed of steel, have a diameter of about 0.015 inch and be one-eighth inch long. Although variable over a wide range, card clothing with about 600 prongs per square inch of working surface can be used with good results. This type of material is available commercially, one supplier of which is John Manning Co., Long Island, New York.

The overhead run 20 is stationary and is attached in flat condition to a rigid support member 26 by adhesives, rivets or the like. The support member 26 is attached to a machine frame or vertical columns, not shown, and can, if desired, be made adjustable in height to permit variation in the spacing between adjacent portions of runs 20, 22. The lower run 22 comprises a continuous loop of card clothing which is supported at each end by pulleys 28, 32 mounted respectively on shafts 34, 36. The widths of runs 20, 22 can be approximately the same as the length of side surface 16 of tampon 14 or, if desired, be of a dimension exceeding the same. Although not critical, the length of run 20 can be about l inches while that of the loop comprising run 22 can be about 44 inches when pulleys 28, 32 are about 4 inches in diameter. The adjacent portions of runs 20, 22 are aligned and generally parallel so that the planes of the adjacent prong ends of runs 20, 22 are also generally parallel.

Pulley 28 is an idler while pulley 32 is keyed or otherwise affixed to shaft 36 which in turn is engaged with a means for imparting rotary motion thereto, for example, a handcrank or the like. If desired, the shaft 36 can be driven by gears, chain and sprockets, belt and pulleys or other equivalent and wellknown means associated with a source of motive power, none of which are shown in the drawing. in the event a mechanical drive is employed in a system such as that described above, it has been found that the relative speed of run 22 with respect to run 20 can be in the range of from about 50 to about I00 lineal feet per minute.

intermediate the pulleys 28, 32 and under the upper leg of the continuous loop of card clothing comprising run 22, that which is closest to run 20, a support member 38 contacts the back of the card clothing and prevents the same from deflecting inwardly to any great extent when pressure is exerted on the prong-equipped side thereof. Support member 38 can be cantilevered from the frame which carries the bearings supporting shafts 34, 36, if desired, but this, along with other constructional details relating to the described apparatus are items which are within the design capacity of those of ordinary skill in the art and therefore are not included herein.

The runs 20, 22 of card clothing are adjusted so that the spacing between the ends of the opposing prongs is from about one sixty-fourth inch to about one-eighth inch smaller than the average diameter of the compressed tampon. If this differential is less than about one sixty-fourth inch, insufiicient disturbing of the fibers occurs, if greater than about on eighth inch, too much tearing and shredding occurs. Alternatively, it is feasible to construct the device to automatically adjust the spacing and thus regulate the penetration. This can be done by mounting run 20 on a floating, spring-loaded support, with the spring compression adjustable to make the same applicable for tampons over wide range of diameters.

Preferably, the spacing between the ends of the prongs of runs 20, 22 should be smaller than the tampon 14 diameter by an amount about equal to twice the length of the prongs, whereby the tampon periphery will contact the surfaces of the backing materials from which the prongs project as it is rolled relative thereto in the fiber disturbing process. This, of course, would be applicable where the prongs have a length in the range of from about one one-hundred twenty-eighths to about onesixteenth inch.

Following the high-pressure compression of the tampon blank to form the bullet-shaped tampon 14, the tampon is processed in the apparatus 18 to disturb the fibers of the side surface 16 of tampon 14. In the event the run 22 is driven mechanically, the apparatus 18 drive is turned on" and the tampons l4 fed through the apparatus 18 from left to right, as viewed in FIG. 4. In so doing, each tampon 14 is fed into the start of the nip" between the runs 20, 22, oriented with its central axis parallel to the planes of the prong ends and transverse the direction of movement of run 22. The prongs of each run 20, 22 penetrate the fibers of the outer portion of the tampon 14. Where the spacing between the ends of the prongs of runs 20, 22 is, as preferred, smaller than the diameter of the tampon 14 by about twice the length of the prongs, the prong penetration is full depth. In any event, the prongs are surrounded by the fibers comprising such outer portion.

The tampon is rolled between the runs 20 and 22 in a direction generally parallel to the plane of the prong ends and therefore each of the fibers comprising the outer portion thereof is forced to move along a path which is cycloidal, as illustrated by the dotted line 40, with respect to the plane of upper surface of the backing material of the upper leg of run 22. In contrast, relative to the rolling action of the tampon 14, the prongs of run 22 move in a direction parallel to the plane of the upper surface of the backing material of the upper leg of run 22. Since the above described paths of movement are not in the same direction and parallel, the fiber ends surrounding the leading side of each prong, as the prong is retracting from the tampon 14 during the rolling movement, are caused to pull loose from adjacent fibers thereby disturbing the outer surface of the highly compacted mass and imparting to the processed tampon 14' a surface such as 16' shown in FIG. 5. The surface 16 comprises a relatively low-density surface of loosely compacted fibers, which is conducive to rapid wicking of menses around the entire outer surfaces of the tampon, thus reducing the possibility of channeling failure. When the aforesaid range of prong penetration (i.e., between about one one-hundred twenty-eighths inch to about one sixteenth inch) is employed, the resulting depth of disturbance will range from about one sixty-fourth inch to about five sixty-fourths inch. Insofar as the amount of disturbance is concerned, using the card clothing described (i.e., about 600, one-eighth inch long prongs per square inch) in the apparatus described, with the prong ends separated by a distance about one thirty-second inch smaller than the average diameter of the tampon 14 (so that the prong penetration is approximately one sixty-fourth inch), the tampon should be fed through at least about twice, so that it is subjected to a minimum of about 30 inches of travel in the machine.

Since most of the tampon 14' remains undisturbed, i.e., the fibers in the interior of tampon 14', the size of the device following the fiber disturbing operation described is not substantially increased over that before the operation and therefore possesses the easy, comfortable insertion characteristics of such highly compressed devices. 0n the other hand, the surface character of the tampon 14 is altered from a very smooth, sometimes glazed, condition of tampon 14 to one such as surface 16' described above with respect to tampon 14'. In use, the tampon is effective in substantially reducing the incidence of channeling.

If desired, substantially the same surface fiber disturbing effeet can be achieved by hand operations, for example, by rolling the tampon l4 longitudinally between two file cards, i.e., the wellknown implements employed by machinists in cleaning the teeth of metal cutting files. Alternatively, the tampon 14 could be rolled, by hand or automatically, along one of the runs 20 or 22 to achieve the same effect. In either event the minimum amount of disturbance should be equivalent to that derived by such a tampon during the aforesaid 30 inch run through the described mechanism.

For best results the entirety of the side surface 16 should be exposed to the fiber disturbing operation. However, improvement in protection against channeling can be obtained to some extent where the disturbed fibers comprise at least about 50 percent of the area of side surface 16 and such disturbance occurs along circumferentially extending areas. Thus, longitudinally spaced, annular bands of disturbed areas could be used, for example.

Many other techniques can also be used in the fiber disturbing operation to achieve results equivalent to those secured in connection with the above-described equipment. In each case the operation will reduce the incidence of channeling failure of highly compressed tampons. It is possible, however, for excessive fiber disturbance to cause fiber lengths to become wrapped about the periphery of the tampon and while, as stated above, the desired reduction of channeling failure is accomplished, the enwrapped fibers can oppose expansion of the tampon in use and can cause the absorptive capacity of the tampon to be reduced below that which would normally be experienced with a tampon of the same weight and initial density and which has not been subjected to the fiber-disturbing operation. The sort of fiber enwrapping described gives the product a cocoonlike appearance and is, of course, objectionable from the standpoint of economics if the enwrapment is so severe as to cause a reduction in in-use capacity which offsets the gain in absorbent capacity expected to be derived from incorporating more material in a similarly sized tampon and thereby requiring that the device be highly compressed. Other disadvantages of excessive fiber disturbance are that the device becomes more susceptible to sloughing-ofi" of fibers during use and could conceivably present a negative image to the consumer if the appearance of the tampon raises doubts as to the product's durability. Those skilled in the art can readily control the extent of fiber disturbance caused by alternative methods of treatment and for this reason detailed discussion of thesame herein is unnecessary.

It has been found to be directionally correct to supplement the above fiber disturbing process by further side surface modification such as those illustrated in FIG. 6 wherein surface 16' of tampon 14' is provided with a plurality of annular slits 42 and a plurality of diametrically extending apertures 44. It will be understood, of course, that the slits 42 and/or the apertures 44 can be omitted if desired since these are not critical. There are some advantages achieved by the supplementary treatments, however, especially with respect to encouragement of the inward flow of menses in the tampon 14'.

The annular slits 42 can be provided in any number and although the drawing shows four of the same, this number preferably ranges from about two to about six. If desired, however, the slit effect can be provided by an equivalent helical cut having from about two to about six complete turns. lf fewer than two slits or turns are used, the improvement in performance is virtually undetectable, and if in excess of six are used there is no further improvement in function and the same could ofier durability problems. Also, preferably, the slits 42, whether annular or helical, should generally be used only where the fiber orientation of the tampon 14' is principally in a direction transverse its length, since otherwise fibers could be cut free of the balance of the structure by the slitting operation and, possibly, slough off within the vagina of the user. This would not, however, occur with devices in which the fibers are bonded together by some adhesive means, for example.

The slits 42 preferably range from about one thirty-second to about three thirty-seconds inch deep and can be formed by sharp cutting edges on knives, slicing blades or the like. Although skilled workers could assemble many suitable devices for producing the slits, one apparatus well adapted for the same in connection with an annular arrangement can, as shown in FIG. 7, comprise four equally sized, spaced circular slicing blades 46 (such as used in meat slicers) mounted on a driven shaft 48 with a V-shaped product support trough 50 having four slots 52, through which the blade 46 peripheries extend, as shown. The tampon 14' is placed in the trough with the central axis thereof parallel to the valley of the V." The height of the trough 50 with respect to the blades 46 is adjusted so that the blade peripheries extend into the tampon an amount equal to the desired penetration of the slits, for example one-sixteenth inch deep. When the shaft is driven, i.e., rotated, and the tampon 14' is lightly held in place in the trough 50, the tampon will rotate in response to the slicing action of the blades 46, forming the four annular slits described.

The diametrically extending apertures 44 can be made by any elongated sharp object, such as an ice pick or the like, having a diameter of between about one thirty-second inch to about three thirty-seconds inch. Thinner objects do not provide any directional improvement, while thicker objects excessively displace or tear apart the fibrous material, thereby expanding the tampon to an undesirable size for easy comfortable insertion. Although mechanical means can be used to automatically form the apertures 44 with such sharp object, the same can be done manually by merely forcing a properly sized ice pick through the tampon 14 along spaced and radially divergent paths. Desirably, the number of apertures 44 is in the range of from about four to about 10 in each tampon. Less than four apertures 44 do not improve performance to any great extent, while more than 10 apertures 44 enlarge and weaken the tampon l4 to an undesirably degree.

Many modifications of the above invention may be used and it is not intended to hereby limit it to the particular embodiments shown or described. The terms used in describing the invention are used in their descriptive sense and not as terms of limitation, it being intended that all equivalents thereof be included within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A catamenial tampon comprising an elongated blank of absorbent fibers compressed to useable size, the interior of said tampon being highly compressed and having a density of at least about 0.4 grams per cubic centimeter, the longitudinally extending exterior of said tampon comprising a lowdensity surface of disturbed fiber ends which are loosened and separated from one another.

tending slits having a depth of between about one thirtysecond to about three thirty-seconds inch.

4. The c'atamenial tampon'of claim 1 which is pierced in a diametrical direction in a multiplicity of locations by an elongated sharp object having cross section dimensions of between about one thirty-second to about three thirty-seconds inch.

I l 0' l '0' 

1. A catamenial tampon comprising an elongated blank of absorbent fibers compressed to useable size, the interior of said tampon being highly compressed and having a density of at least about 0.4 grams per cubic centimeter, the longitudinally extending exterior of said tampon comprising a low-density surface of disturbed fiber ends which are loosened and separated from one another. CM,2Atamenial tampon of claim 1 in which the fiber ends are disturbed to a depth of from between about one sixty-fourth to about five sixty-fourths inch.
 3. The catamenial tampon of claim 1 in which said fibers are oriented in a direction generally transverse the longitudinal dimension of the tampon and in which said longitudinally extending exterior contains at least two circumferentially extending slits having a depth of between about one thirty-second to about three thirty-seconds inch.
 4. The catamenial tampon of claim 1 which is pierced in a diametrical direction in a multiplicity of locations by an elongated sharp object having cross section dimensions of between about one thirty-second to about three thirty-seconds inch. 